


The Woman of the Rain

by rocknrollout



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Before Lucifer's Fall, No Amara, The Darkness never happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 13:46:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7642954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocknrollout/pseuds/rocknrollout
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There will come a time when the humans will talk about when it rained in one place for over an Earth week. There will be rumors about that magical week; stories will be passed down through centuries about a woman kneeling atop the cliffs as the rain melted her away. Some will call her The Woman of the Rain. Others knew of her as the Lost Widow. </p><p>The interesting part about this story? It's true. </p><p> </p><p>This is my take on what happened when Gabriel ran away from home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Woman of the Rain

There will come a time when the humans will talk about when it rained in one place for over an Earth week. They will say that the sky simply refused to stop pouring down on this tired, lonely cliff, transforming lush green grass into sloppy mud. There will be rumors about that magical week; stories will be passed down through centuries about a woman kneeling atop the cliffs as the rain melted her away. Some will call her _The Woman of the Rain_ . Others knew of her as the _Lost Widow_.

Like all stories, the Woman of the Rain will be lost one day. Her story will cease travelling amongst the humans and she will disappear.

Unbeknownst to the humans, the Woman of the Rain was neither a woman nor a fable. There really was a week where it rained ceaselessly, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

My Father brought life to the universe slowly.

First, He created Michael, Heaven’s Commander. Mere moments in time separated the creation of the first archangel to that of the second. Shortly after Michael, God created Lucifer, Heaven’s Morningstar and Father’s favorite son. Father, Michael and Lucifer alone occupied Heaven for an indescribable amount of time. And yet, Father was not content with his two creations for long. He was never content unless He was creating, bending the universe to His all-powerful will.

When Father created Rafael and myself, He had initially intended to create only one archangel. Something — no one had ever ever told me what it was exactly- had gone wrong, and instead of one archangel equally as powerful as Michael and Lucifer, He created two lesser archangels. When we came into existence, we were weak compared to our brothers. So weak, in fact, that Father had actually believed that we wouldn’t last — or at least, that's what Michael tells me.

Against the odds, Rafael and I survived to live under Father’s guidance. Rafael became Heaven’s healer and followed Michael’s every step, whilst I was given the task of being Father’s Messenger. As a result, I was the only angel to have a vessel — the only angel permitted to leave Heaven regularly for centuries. This is no longer true, for my older brothers regularly have business to attend to on Earth. It still fills me with a sense of pride to know that I was the first to be trusted to step onto this planet. I know secrets that no one — not even Father’s Scribe, or Michael, or Lucifer- are allowed to know.

At this moment, I’m sitting on a cliff’s edge on Earth, watching the waves slowly make progress in destroying the beach below. Someday, none of this will exist.

“Gabriel,” a voice says from behind me. “I see that you have escaped from under Michael’s gaze again, my brother.”

“Hey,” I reply warmly without turning around. I hadn’t been expecting company, but it isn’t unwelcome.

Lucifer sits down next to me. He had acquired his vessel only a century ago; his awkward movements give away his inexperience, his discomfort with being trapped inside something so small. The vessel has sheared black hair and wears a speckled white wrap atop its body. It’s nothing impressive.

My vessel, on the other hand, had been created by Father, designed to look like the ideal human. Something universally beautiful. He had said that inhabiting an appealing vessel would make it easier for me to talk to the humans; they would be more likely to listen. Father had wanted humans to see angels as something otherworldly. With braided red hair, a healthy body, and a wrap that matches the blue lilies permanently woven into my hair, this vessel had truly been designed to be perfect. Some days, I wonder if my true form will ever match this body’s beauty.

“Enjoying the view?” Lucifer asks, his vessel’s vocal cords struggling through the complex Enonichan vowels, He turns his vessel’s head to stare at me.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I reply, leaning back on the palms of my vessel’s hands. I tilt my vessel’s chin towards the sky. The warmth from the sun is gentle on my vessel’s face.

“Oh yes.” His words are somewhere between the truth and simply what I want to hear. “Have you—”

“No.” I don’t have to hear the whole sentence to know what Lucifer wants from me. “I shall not join you.”

“You agree with Michael.”

“I didn’t say that.”

Lucifer grabs my vessel’s shoulder and jerks me sideways; we are now making eye contact. He grabs hold of the other shoulder. “Fight alongside me, brother,” Lucifer begs, shaking my vessel once. “I need you.”

“I won’t fight Michael,” I insist. I keep my vessel’s face carefully blank. One wrong eyebrow twitch could set Lucifer’s fiery temper ablaze.

Lucifer becomes agitated. He releases my vessel’s shoulders with a shove and looms over me. “So, you’re against me!” he accuses with a huff. He turns on his heels and walks three paces away from me. “I thought you loved me, Gabriel. We are _brothers_.”

I rise and follow him with slower, calmer steps. None of what Lucifer says is true; he must know that. “I don’t want to fight Michael, and I don’t want to fight you. And I most certainly don't want to see you both tear each other apart.” I stare at his vessel's back for a short time, then quietly add, “All I want is for us to be brothers again.”

“I cannot be brothers with someone who actually thinks that those... _apes_ ,” Lucifer grinds his vessel’s teeth together,  “are better than us.”

“Father wants us to love them."

“Well, Father is _wrong!_ ” Lucifer snaps, spinning around to glare at me. I’ve never seen such anger spinning through my older brother’s grace.

A crack of lightning splits the sky, shaking the ground beneath us. It seems that Lucifer’s anger had caused the previously sunny day to darken with storm clouds and lightning. Rain begins to pour down on us, making unruly strands of hair stick to my vessel’s face.  

“Lucifer...” I say, taking a cautious step forward. “Father is not—”

“ _Grow up,_ Gabriel! These creatures are flawed, abortions! They do not deserve our love!”

Before I am able to find words, Lucifer vanishes. Thunder masks the sound of his thousands of transcendental wings.   

My brother’s disappearance leaves me more broken than I would have ever anticipated, souring the thick, stormy air on top of this pathetic cliff. I’ve only ever wanted to have a happy, loving family, the ones that humans get to have. Why did Father give this gift to _humans_ and not _angels_ ? Or maybe he _had_ given it to us, and we just lost the ability to use it.

Suddenly, my vessel’s body seems far too weak to carry the weight of my realization. My eyes have been opened to the darkness. Alongside a crack of thunder, I collapse to the ground, muddying my beautiful dress. And in my grief, the rain pouring from the sky simulates the tears I cannot shed.   

The amount that humans can get done in such a short period of time has always amazed me. They were created for it. They live such short lives but a single human lives a fuller life than an entire garrison of angels combined. The life of a human was a chaotic one, but no one seemed to be bothered. They loved, and ate, and slept and bred, every day. Until they died. Angels, on the other hand, never die. No, we are immortal, forever surviving in our heartless limbo until  our Father doesn’t need us anymore.

 On a street corner, I stand, hidden amongst the humans, I spend hours doing what, someday, humans will call _people watching._ They run through the town without fear; children playing, parents bargaining for the family's next meal. They enjoy their time on Earth.

I can’t do that. How can I be joyful when I had betrayed my brother? But Lucifer had betrayed our Father. For the first time in my long, long life, I don’t know what to do. I can’t fight Lucifer, but if I stay in Heaven, I would most certainly be thrust into the battle at some point.    

I allow my walls to fall, letting the humans see me if they so choose. A young girl holding her mother’s hand waves to me, smiling. She is missing six teeth. I return the gesture, my teeth sparkling from never being abused as humans seem to enjoy doing. Someday, they will learn about oral care.

I step out of the shadows, meandering through the street with the humans. Local, freshly killed animals are stacked high on the carts that lined the street. A man attempts to bargain for a better deal, even before the word “bargaining” had been coined. Someone brushes against my vessel’s back, knocking me forward slightly.

“ _O! Mae'n ddrwg gennym,_ ” the man who had made contact with me apologized in a thick Welsh accent. **[Oh! I’m sorry]**

When I turn to look at the man, I realize that his eyes sparkle like gold. Sunlight reflects off of his feathered hair magnificently. He looks at me with such sincere guilt that I am stunned for a moment. He’s truly a beautiful human. He would make a perfect vessel.

“ _Mae'n iawn_ ,” I assure, pausing for a moment.   **[It is alright]** After a moment of thought, I request, “ _Dewch gyda mi_ .” **[Please follow me]**

He agrees with a warm smile and follows me out of the crowded road. He does this because I want him to. This isn’t his his choice. That doesn't matter. I need a new vessel if I want to survive. If I am to stay out of the fight, I must disappear. We walk back to the street corner, the one I had originally watched the humans from. Again, I create a border between us and the rest of the world.

He smiles at me. “ _Beth ydych chi'n ei angen cariad?_ ” **[What do you need, love?]**

“ _Yr wyf yn angel. Gabriel._ ” **[I am an angel. Gabriel]**

The man stares at me with wide eyes full of wonder and love. “ _Angel_?” he asks.

I nod. “ _Fi angen llestr. Rhaid i chi fod fy llong._ ” **[I need a vessel. You must be my vessel]**

He agrees immediately.

I’m glad that humans are taught from such an early age to agree to anything an angel wishes. It makes this so much easier. I exit the vessel created for me and enter the vessel I have chosen for myself. A second after the entirety of my being is encased within my new vessel, I leave the alley, the street full of humans, and the only life I’ve ever known.   


**Author's Note:**

> Come hang with me at rocknrollout.tumblr.com


End file.
